Target-practice apparatus.



H. H. CUMMINGS.

TARGET PRACTICE APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.2G,1909.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

2'$HEETS-SHEET1 In 12611101 Henzzyfl Cummz y M witnesses H. H. CUMMINGS.

TARGET PRACTICE APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED mnfze, 1909 1,078,259, Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

2 SHEET$SHEET 2.

a record of the aim is UNITED sTAfr is PATENT, orrion.

HENRY H. CUMMINGS, OF NEWTQN,

MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, o ATLANTIC NATIONAL BANK, or PRDVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A

GDBPQBATIQN OF RHODE ISLAND.

TARGET-PRACTICE APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HENRY H. CUMMINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newton, in the county of Middlesex'and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Target-Practice Apparatus, (Case 13,) of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like otters on the drawings representlng like parts. I

My invention relates to target practice apparatus, being more particularly intended for the practice of marksmanship wherein obtained without the necessity of using ammunition. v

The embodiment of my invention herein disclosed consists of an attachment applicable to firearms, such as rifles, carbines and other small arms, in combination wit-h a suitable target or other record member whereon -record of the aim taken at an objective mark on the target or elsewhere may be made. My invention will be best understood by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying illustration of one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing one form of ny invention applied to a rifle of wellknown pattern; Fig. 2 is a side elevation,

partly'broken away, showing the target support and the: provision whereby it acts as a casing or receptacle for the rifi attachment;

is a side elevation, partly broken Fig. 3 I away, of the muzzle end of theriile attachment on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 :1 sec tional elevation o the same rt; Fig. 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the breech end of the attachment; .6 is a front elevation of the target an target holder; Fig. 7 is a rear elevation thereof; Fig. 8 is a'section in plan through the target holder on the line 8-8 in Fig. 2; Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a modified form of target'holder; Fig. 10 a central sectional elevation thereof;'Fi 11 is a rear elevation of the same target holder; and 12 is a lan view in section on the line 12.12 in i O fieferring to the. drawings and to the em- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed liarch 26, 1909.

Patented Nov. 1 1. 191 3. Serial No. 485,877.

bodiment of my invention there shown, while'the same may be constructed in various formsfor application to various firearms, I have herein shown it applied to a rifle 1 of an ordinary and well-known construction. For the purpose of effecting a record of the aim the mile may be held in the hands of the marksman in the usual fashion and aim taken at some nearby objective mark or target. Such n'iark may be provided many desired way, but herein it is presented by the small objective target 2 upon the target- 3, [the latter carried in a holder 4. The holder is mounted u )011 a, support 5 and the latter may be attacl any 'fixed object, as to the wall of a room, by means of'a nail or, the like upon which the support 5 is suspended through the opening 6. With aim taken at the mark 2 record is effected upon a target preferably, though not necessarily, separate from the mark 2 and herein, though not necessarily,

led to consisting of a target marking 7 upon the.

same card or slip 3 as carries the objective mark 2.

To effect record of the aim upon the target 7 the rifle is provided with a marker which, on the jected from its barrel and protrudes far enough to mark or prick the record target. For practice the rifle may be held with its muzzle a few inches from the the proportions of the objective target 2 and the record target 7 are selected so that conditions of any desired range may be secured. That is to say, for a range, of two hundred yards the objective target will preferably be given such a size as to appear like a two hundred yard target at the short distance through which the marksman observes it, and the deviation of the aim from a true line of sight will be'recorded upon the record target 7 in thc'same fashion as would be the case were such-deviation given the rifle upon the actual range.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3 to 5, the marker comprises a small rod 8 carrying at its forward end the head 9 provided with a fine its rear end. the sliding impact block 1,5. The block 11 is fixedl secured to the ro and the head 9 is preierably-hardened and threaded to the end of the rod, being split as shown to securea firm frictional hold.

pull of the trigger, is pro-' target, and

pr1ck point 10, and at thereon. The block 11 is slidable within the outer tube 12 and is normally pressed back to the position shown in Fig. 4 by means of the light coiled spring 13 within the tube, one end of'which is pressed against the block and the other end is seated against the end of an interior thimble or sleeve 14 which is secured within the forward end of the tube by brazing, soldering or other means. The head 9 has a sliding fit within the sleeve 14, but seats against the contracted inner end 15 of the sleeve. The latter is pro vided with a flanged head 16 and the tube is split at 17 or other means provided so that, when the tube is inserted into the bore qt the riiie'from the muzzle end, the tube, which otherwise substantially fits the bore, is frictionally held or gripped therein. In this position the head 16 of the sleeve overlies the end of the muzzle (as shown in Fig. 1) and the marker head is seated within the sleeve out of sight, so that the rifle presents substantially its ordinary and usual appearance. To actuate the marker the breech end of the rifle is provided (Figs. 1 and 5) with a striking rod 18 having fixed on its rear end the head 19 and at its forward end the striking block 20. The rod 18 is inserted in the rifle from the breech end thereof so that the head 19 fits the rear end of the cartridge chamber of the rifle, there being provided. a guiding and abutting block. 21'

through which the rod 18 has a sliding fit, such guiding block having a seat in the ei-ward en of the cartridge chamber or other suitable part of the rifle bore. In this position the head 19 lies in the position usually occupied Ly the cartridge head and in the path of the firing pin 22 so that, when the latter is released by the trigger, it

strikes the head and drives the rod forward, causlng the striking block which, in the normal position of the apparatus lies in con tact with the impact block 11 on the marker rod, to drive the marker rod forward against the spring 13, which is done with a force suiiicient to project the marker point six or eight inches or more from the muzzle of the rifle. In order to seat the striking rod 18 in its rearward position and also to cause it to deliver a quick heavy blow, there is provided between the head 19 and guide block 21 a heavy coiled spring 23. This is relatively of much greater strength than the light coiled spring 13 and herein is made to form the sole attachment between the head and the guide block 21, the adjacent ends of the head and block being for this purpose necked down and provided with helical grooves, by means .of which they are threaded into the ends of the spring (see Fig. 5).

Referring now to the target and target 'holder, the latter I have herein shown as formed of a single piece of material. This holder should preferably present a yieldable -piece 25 of such cross-section as to have a dove-tailed sliding fit in a groove 20 formed in the front face of the support liy this means the holder is vertically adjustable on the support to accommodate the height of the marksman, being Secrted in any adjusted position by any suitable means. l'lerein for this purpose the guiding memher 25 is slightly curved instead of being straight so that it secures a frictional grip on the walls of the support, and. will be retained in any place to which it is moved.

It will be seen that the correct record of the aim depends upon a true vertical posi tion of the line connecting the objective target 2 and the recording target 7. I In order to provide an adjustment tocru'rert the aim for windage, means are provided for oll'setting the record target relatively to the ohjeclive target. For this purpose the target tself is made adjustable, although other means may be employed. To secure the adjustment the target is merely turned,within the circular holder. 'lo measure the extent of the adjustment the scale 27 is provided upon the edge of the target, which may be read with reference to a mark or reference point 28 upon the holder. For convenience in placing the target in the normal and ocntral position, the. reference point consists of a. V-shaped projection molded on the holder and the irgct is preferably formed with. a \l shaped groove in its edge which his the projection when the target properly insorted. To adjust for windagc the target is merely withdrawn from. the reference point and turned slightly to the right or left shown in Fig. 6).

In the operation of the apparatus the rifle being aimed at the reference mark and the trigger pulled the marker shoots out, pricking the record target and is immediately withdrawn within the rifle-barrel and seated in its normal position. I

As a means for conveniently transporting the muzzle and breech portions of the at tachment, the support is bored out at one end to provide the pockets :29 and 30 to re ceive the striking rods and muzzle attachment, respectively. At the bottom of the pockets there are provided the spring clips 31 and 32 which grip the ends of the inserted members respectively and there retain them against accidental displacement. On the other hand, they may be readily removed by e' ing the projecting portions 19 and 16, espectively, of the two members. a

In Figs. 9 to 12 I have shown a modified form target holder. Herein the same comprises a circular plate 33 presenting a facing 84- of rubber or other yielding material which has a pocket or recess 35 adapted to receive a target slip 36 (see Fig. 9). The back of the plate is provided with a guiding and holding member 37 having a dove-tailed sliding fit in the walls 38 of the holder 3 A spring 40 is preferably pro- "vided to retain the holder in any position to which it may be vertically adjusted The target slip 36 has imprinted thereon a record target all and an objective target 42. For windage adjustment there is provided an adjustable. auxiliary holder 43 pivotally mounted at the rear of the main holder upon the stud 44. The latter passes through a slot 45 in the auxiliary holder so that the latter can be adjusted up and down or swung to one side or the other, being there retained by means of a spring 46 compressed he" .veen the back of the holder and a washer -17. W hen it is desired to adjust the appa- "us for windagc, the target slip 36 is inserted in the main holder so that the record target appears as shown in dotted lines Fig. 9, and a target slip is inserted in the auxiliary holder so that the reference mark 4-2 appears, as shown in Fig, 9. The auxiliary holder 13 may then be adjusted to one side or the other or may be raised or lowered for elevational adjustment. The holder 33 at its top edge is provided with a plate 48 which carries a scale 49, While the target slip 36 is provided with a central reference line 50 together with a second scale, so that the extent of these adjustments may be calculated from these two scales.

Vv hile I have herein shown and described one form of my invention for illustrative purpoes, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of extensive modifications and deviations from the illustrated embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 1s:

1. In a target practice apparatus, the combination with a retaining tube adapted to be inserted within the bore of a firearm, of a marker rod having an enlarged marking head, a spring normally retracting the rod within the tube, and a sleeve or thimble in the forward end of the tube, said head in its normal position being retracted within said sleeve and seated against a contracted portion thereof.

2. In an aim recording attachment for a fire arm, the combination with a marking device adapted to be inserted in the bore of a fire arm, of a target holder, a support for said holder, one or more pockets formed in the end thereof to receive the parts of said marking device, and means within said pockets to hold said parts in place.

3. In a target practice apparatus, an aim recording attachment comprising a. marker rod, and a guiding member adapted to guide said rod, said guiding member having a flange larger than the barrel of the firearm and adapted to be inserted in the muzzle thereof.

4. In a target practice apparatus, an aim recording attachment comprising a marking rod, a separate striking .rod, 'a guiding member adapted to guide said marker rod, said guiding member having a flange larger than the barrel of the fire arm and adapted to be inserted in the muzzle thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY H. CUMMINGS. 

